Patreon Chapter
Brought to you by The Patrons
Arigatou Gozaimasu!
Rishe weaknesses revealed to Arnold.
Enjoy and stay safe everyone~
Chapter 26 – I will have dinner with my (future) husband
In a small kitchen in the detached villa, Rishe was chopping medicinal herbs. This medicinal herb was brought home by the knights who were patrolling around the Imperial Capital this morning.
Once she has finished cutting them quickly, collect them on the cutting board with a knife, and then she puts them into the pot. After adding seasonings, she stirred it in with the bacon and onions that had already been cooked to some extent.
The aroma of soup spread in the kitchen, which is only used for simple boiling. This place is only used for breakfast, so no one comes near it at night.
[Umm…]
Inside the small kitchen, Rishe glanced on her back.
[Just as I thought, perhaps it would be better if you wait in my room…?]
Arnold sits on a wooden chair in the corner.
He rested his chin on the simple table beside him, watching Rishe make soup.
[Don’t mind me, I’m fine here.]
[…If Your Highness says so.]
Even if he is alright with it, would he not be bored?
Now that she thinks about it, he was watching intently when Rishe was removing the dye from her hair with hot water and a towel.
(Perhaps he has an ingrained habit of observing others?)
Even as she thought so, she stirred the soup. It seemed like it was almost cooked, so Rishe scooped it into a small tasting plate and sipped it a little.
[…..]
She added a little bit of salt.
Then, mix again and check the taste. Rishe closed her eyes tightly, hurriedly poured water into the pot, let it boil once more, and then added the pepper.
She added some chopped medicinal herbs just in case and tasted the soup again.
Having tasted it, she suddenly came to her senses.
(What have I done…!?)
Rishe realizes her sinfulness and regrets taking this action. Due to her fatigue, she didn’t think much when she invited Arnold for dinner and offered him her self-made soup.
[Umm… Your Highness.]
While still holding the small plate with the remaining soup in her hand, Rishe opened her mouth quietly.
[Actually, I have something to apologize to you for.]
[What? Wandering around the castle town alone at night?]
[That’s true too!! …I’m really sorry for suggesting you to have a light meal with me.]
Rishe took a deep breath, wondering how to convey the message.
It takes a lot of courage to confess her weaknesses to a man who was her enemy in another life. To put it simply, she’s embarrassed, but here she has to be honest or she’ll be in trouble.
After Rishe searched for words and was at a loss as to what to do, she finally turned around.
And he manages to squeeze out a voice.
[I-I’m not good at cooking…!]
[—Hou.]
For a moment, Rishe saw Arnold make an expression she had never seen before, but maybe it was just her imagination.
[I invited you because I was hungry and tired, but this was a complete mistake. I’m sorry…]
[Well, I was wondering why you were so skillful in the first place. If anyone thinks about it normally, it’s rare for a Duke’s daughter to have experience in cooking.]
[That’s true, though.]
Throughout Rishe’s various lives, her diet has always been about “giving priority to putting something in her stomach”.
Of course Rishe loves delicious food, but she prioritized sleeping more than spending time cooking. When she was a knight, she was satisfied with just sprinkling salt on boiled potatoes.
When Rishe was a pharmacist, she thought, “preparing medicine and cooking are probably the same thing”. She was once told, “all you have to do is add the specified amount of ingredients”.
Although it is true that the actions of cutting ingredients and stewing them in a pot may be the same.
However, from Rishe’s point of view, cooking had elements such as “the taste of the ingredients” and “the way it cooks”, both were fundamentally different from preparing medicine.
Rishe doesn’t mind the taste of this soup as long as she’s the only one drinking it.
Even thoiugh she has already done it this much, she was far from reluctant to give it to Arnold.
[I apologize for having kept you waiting, but I don’t think this soup will suit Your Highness’s taste.]
[…..]
[I’ll go get some food from the main castle’s kitchen, so please wait a little longer. We’ll talk about Aria Company after that.]
Before she could finish speaking, Arnold stood up from his chair.
Then, he took the small plate that Rishe was holding and took a sip of the remaining soup with a natural movement.
[Ah!!]
Because she was surprised, her reaction was delayed for a moment. Arnold muttered this, ignoring Rishe who immediately came to her senses and panicked.
[…It’s delicious.]
[Eh!?]
She widened her eyes in surprise. Arnold, on the other hand, drank the remaining soup on the small plate.
[See? So, this soup is just fine.]
[No way, that can’t happen!]
Rishe went to taste it again, but the taste was still too strong, and it wasn’t a compliment. At the very least, it shouldn’t be the kind of thing you can give to others.
(What were you thinking that this was delicious…?)
After having doubts, she remembered something.
Come to think of it, Arnold is the man who drank wine with chili peppers just the other day. The spiciness was an issue, but the taste was also far from delicious.
(Maybe this person has no sense of taste…)
[Oi. You must be thinking something rude.]
Unwillingly, she accepts it with a reluctant look on her face. Even Rishe could understand that Arnold was trying to be considerate to her.
[…Thank you very much.]
[I’m hungry because of you. I’ll help you, so we can quickly set the dishes.]
Arnold hurriedly prepared the table in a hurry. After Rishe finished preparing the meal, she decided to drink the richly flavored soup with Arnold.
Usually, when Rishe eats at the main castle, she is alone in the dining room. Even on the journey to Valkhyne, she did not eat with Arnold, who was moving around giving instructions to the knights.
It was a strange feeling to eat dinner face to face with someone like that.
[Now then.]
After eating, Rishe regained some energy and finally got to the main point.
[To put it simply, in exchange for making profit for Aria Company, I am planning to have them fulfill my “unreasonable orders”.]
[…..]
It’s a very rough explanation, but it’s better than being long and difficult to understand.
She gave additional explanation to Arnold, who frowned.
[The Aria Company will continue to expand its influence and become one of the world’s leading companies. In the future, we’re sure to see more and more products that only they can purchase, products that no one can’t sell, and their unique routes.]
[After hearing their track record over the past two years, I agree that they are worth the investment. So?]
[I want the power of that company. That’s why I contacted them, but they refused, saying that I couldn’t do business with them unless I revealed their intentions. That would be a problem, so I have presented them with alternative conditions.]
[…The conditions are?]
[『Within a week, I’ll devise a new business that will work in this Imperial Capital』. If it meets the chairman’s expectations, he will be able to enter into a business relationship with me.]
Arnold fell silent as her explanation didn’t cover anything important.
Rishe can guess there are other things he’d like to ask her.
However, just like with Tally, she can’t tell him everything. In fact, Rishe’s intentions could not be revealed to Arnold more than anyone else.
After all, the war that she wants to stop is caused by Arnold.
Rishe had been on guard, but when Arnold finally opened his mouth, she received an unexpected response.
[I understand.]
[Eh?]
[I said I understand. I understand what you’ve done today and what you’re going to do.]
Rishe was taken aback by that answer.
[Your Highness. Are you not going to ask me what I plan to use Aria Company for in the future?]
[Since you insisted on that company and went as far as offered alternative conditions on them. I don’t think you would even tell me.]
[…It’s just as you said.]
[More importantly, do you have any ideas for the new business?]
Rishe looked down as she was hit where it hurt.
[I have been thinking of several business ideas, but I don’t know yet whether they will work in the Imperial Capital. I still don’t know what kind of people live in this city, what tends to be popular, and what kinds of things are loved.]
Normally, this is an investigation that would take some time. Tally must have known this as well, and had cut the deadline of one week.
[In other words, it looks like it’s going to be a tough struggle.]
[Yes.]
[…Hmm.]
Rishe has a bad feeling about that meaningful reply.
When she looked up, Arnold was smiling wickedly.
[Looking at you now, it’s quite fun.]
(Just like I thought……!)
Although she still can’t read his true intentions, it seems like she has come to understand some parts of him. It’s also infuriating that his smile, which has a bad personality, is turned into a beautiful picture because he’s handsome.
While Rishe was looking nervous, Arnold eventually got up from his seat.
[I’ve said it over and over again, but you can do whatever you want. I’ll be heading back to the main castle soon.]
[Yes. Good night.]
Before leaving the kitchen, he turned around.
[Have you met my little brother yet?]
[Your Highness’s little brother?]
This is the first time Arnold has talked about his little brother.
[I don’t think so. I’ve never seen your face, so I can only say “probably”.]
[Then, it’s fine. But if he approaches you, avoid him as much as possible.]
[Your Highness little brother’s name is Theodore, right? Is there something wrong with him?]
It seems there is something complicated between him and his little brother. When she asked about this, Arnold declared:
[That’s something you don’t need to know.]
And the door slowly closes.
==============
＊＊＊
On the next day.
Rishe went to the field like usual, wondering what to do about new business in the Imperial Capital and the plan to survey the market, but she ended up feeling at a loss.
[R-Rishe-sama!! Please step back. Let’s go back to your room.]
[Your Highness will be angry! Please step back!]
[…]
She looked down at the field while listening to the voices of the panicking knights.
(What should I do about this…)
There was a boy lying on the soil plowed by Rishe, taking a peaceful nap.
He is an androgynous boy with the same black hair as Arnold and a beautiful face that you can see even with his eyes closed.
Nega Translations 